Most of America knows Rob Gronkowski for his gaudy stats and his party-boy persona.

Most of America knows Rob Gronkowski for his gaudy stats and his party-boy persona. But the tight end is as good of a blocker as he is a pass-catcher, and while waxing poetic Friday about Gronkowski's blocking ability, Patriots coach Bill Belichick invoked the name of Giants great Mark Bavaro.

"Yeah, he's one of the best blockers," Belichick said of Gronk. "I mean, I'll put him there with Bavaro in terms of the guys I've coached. I mean, it'd be hard for me to put anybody past Bavaro just because of the number of times he blocked Reggie White with no help."

Belichick was a defensive coach with the Giants from 1979-90 and saw Bavaro battle the likes of Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks.

"I mean, those were as competitive matchups and practices I've ever seen," Belichick said. "I mean, it was awesome to watch players of that level compete the way they competed. All three of those guys were just tremendous football players. So, I have a lot of accolades for Rob and his blocking. I'm just saying it's hard for me to put anybody past Bavaro based on Reggie White, Banks and Taylor."

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is best known for catching passes and scoring touchdowns, but his head coach raves about his blocking ability. (Charles Krupa/AP)

PUGH TOES LINE Guards Justin Pugh (dehydration) and Geoff Schwartz (ankle) are probable while CB Leon McFadden (groin) is questionable. The team feared Pugh, who said he'll play Sunday, might have had a concussion but he passed protocol.

Pugh had a concussion his rookie year. "I knew what the symptoms were like and I knew this wasn't like that," he said.

The third-year lineman will go up against former Syracuse teammate and Pats defensive end Chandler Jones, who leads the NFL with 9½ sacks. Jones was drafted No. 21 overall in 2012, while Pugh went No. 19 in 2013.

"We had some battles," Pugh said of his college practice sessions. "I don't think we knew how good me and him really were. … We promised each other we were gonna go in the first round when we were there, and he went first and went 21. I had to top him a little bit."